


Just A Number

by bluestbluetoeverblue



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Former Student Dean, M/M, Teacher Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 13:42:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2112072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluestbluetoeverblue/pseuds/bluestbluetoeverblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Dean’s crush on his English teacher becomes much more than he anticipates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just A Number

Mr. Novak taught senior English, as well as two AP English classes. Not being quite the AP student, Dean was only in Mr. Novak’s class for the last two semesters of high school. Within a few days, Dean came to terms with how attractive Mr. Novak was--ruffled raven hair, leanly muscular, over-sized square reading glasses, semi-formal attire, way too blue eyes--and was able to be somewhat attentive in class despite the fact. That was his first mistake, paying attention. Because listening to Mr. Novak lecture meant listening to Mr. Novak and becoming entranced in that pleasantly gravelly voice of his, and it also meant realizing that the dude was a genius. For the first time in his life, Dean enjoyed assigned reading and the resulting discussions--not that he ever offered much to them. 

By November, Dean was crushing hard. 

Most seniors either buckled down and stressed out or stopped caring about what they did. Not to anyone’s surprise, Dean did the latter. That was how it began. First, it was handing in assignments and their journals; Dean would let his hands linger near Mr. Novak’s for a bit too long while staring him dead in the eye. At first, there was alarm in those crystal blue eyes, but eventually he was unfazed by Dean’s inappropriate gestures. So of course, Dean had to ramp it up. He began staring into Mr. Novak’s eyes as seductively as he could in the middle of class, sometimes causing the English teacher to stammer while lecturing before quickly shifting his eyes to a different student. Dean also enjoyed winking. A lot. Really, he was surprised no one ever noticed all the one-sided winking that went on in his third period class. 

The worst, though, was when Dean would occasionally catch Mr. Novak in the halls. That was when the expressions and winking and everything else he could think of reached their maximum. Mr. Novak always managed to ignore him, but Dean didn’t mind. He was graduating in a few months, and it was a harmless crush. One day, he built up the guts and planned on talking to Mr. Novak after class. He waited in his desk for everyone to file out of the room and could feel his teacher’s eyes on him, could hear him wondering what he was going to do. When everyone was gone, Dean stood up at the exact moment Jo Harvelle walked into the room and approached Mr. Novak with a handful of papers. Dean glanced at Jo, avoiding Mr. Novak’s stare, and hurried into the hallway before cursing himself for being such a damned coward. 

***

“Holy shit,” Jo said for the fifth time. She stood beside Dean in the hallway, blue gown falling on her small frame and matching cap squishing the blonde hair pinned up on top of her head. Dean stood in similar but tighter-fitting attire staring at the diploma in his hands.

“Holy shit.” Six times. “We finished. We’re done.”

She looked up at Dean with a wide grin, and he smiled back before grabbing her into a hug. 

“Hell yeah, we did,” he yelled, Jo laughing and squeezing him back. She caught sight of Bobby, Ellen, John, and Sam waiting at the end of the hall and ran off to be congratulated. Dean caught sight of Mr. Novak standing near a group of students a few feet away and flashed him a carelessly suggestive smile before following Jo. 

***

Dean slipped in between strangers grinding on one another to yell an order at the bartender. After declining the invitation to go partying with Jo and Bella Dean had been left at home only for his thoughts to quickly turn to Mr. Novak. School had been out three weeks, and still Dean was caught up on the guy? For Christ’s sake, he didn’t even know a thing about the dude. Which was why Dean was currently standing in the middle of a strange night club full of people he had never met, buying over-priced drinks without even being asked for an ID. It was time to forget about Mr. Novak, and what better way to do that than find some hot stranger looking for company?

Dean took a drink and surveyed the people around. Everyone was either plastered, creepy-looking, or groping someone else. He took another drink. This was necessary, as far as Dean was concerned; he couldn’t spend all summer thinking about the guy. His prayers were answered when he was tapped on the shoulder. Okay, no, that was definitely not what he had been praying for. 

Mr. Novak stood in black slacks and a loosely buttoned white shirt, eyes bright in the darkness of the club. He was squinting at Dean, and looked about 500 percent done when Dean turned to face him, and he could properly see his face.

“Dean Winchester. Of course.” Mr. Novak shook his head and took a long gulp of his drink. Dean didn’t know what to say or think beside that voice sounded even hotter after three weeks of absence. 

“Uh, hey, Mr. Novak.”

“Don’t hey Mr. Novak me.” The tone of his voice was one Dean didn’t recognize. Even when frustrated in class, he never sounded quite like that. In one gulp, Mr. Novak finished off his drink and set the glass on the bar before pulling Dean off to the side of the club, away from so many people. 

“Look, I know I was kind of-” Dean was cut off by Mr. Novak’s mouth as his lips attacked Dean’s sloppily. At first Dean couldn’t think of what to do, then he realized that Castiel Novak was making out with him, and what the fuck was he doing thinking, and he attacked the guy right back. 

***

The apartment was too dark for Dean to notice any details about it as the door slammed behind them, but he didn’t frankly care. Much more consuming was the task of pulling off Mr. Novak’s clothes as the man’s hands pulled at his own. They tripped through the unlit house, Dean thanking God that one of them knew where they were going right before he fell onto a plush mattress. Nothing else around him was seeming very important besides how sweet Mr. Novak’s lips tasted.

***

Dean blinked at the sunlight coming in through sheer curtains a few feet away. He rolled over sleepily, hand hitting warm, tanned skin. Dean’s eyes shot open as he took in the unconscious body next to him, from naked back up to disheveled, dark hair and the creases on the back of his neck. For months, he’d imagined this exact situation, but now there was a pit in Dean’s stomach. What was he doing here? He slipped out of bed and pulled on his boxers and alcohol-stained t-shirt before grabbing his jeans in one hand and shoes in the other and tiptoeing towards the bedroom door. 

“Dean?” The voice was groggy. Mr. Novak pulled himself up so that he was leaning back on his elbows and staring at him. Dean froze.

“Um, good morning?” Mr. Novak groaned.

“Shit.” He covered his face with his hands and laid back in bed. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

“Uh…” Dean stood awkwardly five steps from the door. Mr. Novak looked at him and groaned again.

“Dammit, Dean, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry about last night.” Now Dean was laughing. 

“Are you kidding me?” He at Dean, head tilted. “You think I pulled all that shit all year because I didn’t want to sleep with you? That I had no part in last night?” Dean laughed some more, stopping to sit on the edge of the mattress, where he could feel Mr. Novak’s legs beside him. 

“That doesn’t excuse my actions.”

“Mr. Novak, I’m eighteen, and I’m no longer your student. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Not technically, but that doesn’t make-”

“Dude, you realize last night was like a dream, right?” Dean’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d said and blushed much deeper than the pink spreading across his teacher’s face.

“I just...never expected to be sleeping with an eighteen year old. It wasn’t in my five-year plan.” Dean laughed and his sarcasm and rested a hand on his leg, causing him to tense in surprise and uneasiness.

“Mr. Novak, you’re pretty cute, you know that?”

“I think you can probably call me Castiel now.”

“Castiel, then.”

***

After making an awkward ceremony of getting dressed and saying good bye, Dean declined breakfast and made his way home to find his father in the kitchen frying bacon. John offered a look at the state of his son and returned to his pork.

“You could have let me know you weren’t coming home last night. Sam and I do worry sometimes, you know.”

“I wasn’t planning on staying out. Sorry.” Dean leaned up against the kitchen counter and took a sip of a glass of orange juice sitting on it.

“Get your own glass.”

“I’m good.” John shook his head at his son, and Dean laughed before grabbing a piece of bacon and heading upstairs to shower. He ran into Sam in the hallway.

“I already got the call me spiel from Dad, so don’t bother.”

Sam rolled his eyes and continued following the smell of breakfast. It was almost like nothing significant had changed.

***

Dean figured sleeping with the guy would have quelled his desires, but it in fact made it harder not to think about Mr. Novak. He hung out with his family, worked at the garage, went to parties with Jo, but the whole time his mind would wander back to Castiel at some point. A few weeks after the night at the club, Dean ran into the blue eyed English teacher at a record store in the mall. They made awkward eye contact, then awkward silence, then Dean spoke.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Castiel said uncomfortably and shifted from foot to foot.

“Whatcha got there?” Dean asked, pointing to the record in his hand.

“It’s a gift for my sister, Anna. Her birthday is in a few weeks.”

“That’s cool. I wish my little brother was that easy to shop for.” Castiel nodded, and they both pretended to stare at record bins in front of them.

“Do you wanna go out sometime?” Dean asked in one rushed breath, cursing himself the moment the words were out. Castiel’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I- I don’t know if that would be wise.”

“It’s alright if you don’t. No big deal.” Dean looked away quickly.

“No, no. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just…” Castiel sighed and rubbed his temple. “I spent nine months trying to ignore you, Dean, then in one night I let go and feel terrible about it. I just don’t want to make a mistake.”

“If you don’t want to hang out, just say so,” Dean huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“It’s not that,” Castiel said quickly. “You don’t know how much I want to say yes, how much I wanted to say yes all along, but-”

“Wait, you...during school…?”

“Yes,” he replied sheepishly, looking at the ground.

“Oh my god. I mean, I always thought...shit. Please? Say you’ll go out sometime? There’s nothing standing in the way anymore.”

Castiel looked at him unsurely, eyebrows furrowing with indecision.

***

Their first date was a dinner out of burgers and fries-- Dean’s suggestion. Then it was the movies, then to a concert, then the movies again. Each time Dean told himself not to get his hopes up, but it was always a wave of relief when Castiel suggested he come in when they got back to his apartment. Castiel felt guilty the first few mornings after, but Dean eventually convinced him there was nothing wrong about their relationship. 

Dean had never expected his little high school crush to go anywhere, let alone as far as it already had. Then Castiel would talk about his childhood, or his job, or his favorite books and movies, and Dean would have to spend five minutes being amazed that he got to have these conversations. 

He was standing outside Castiel’s apartment one day, Cas standing just inside the threshold kissing him goodbye, when Dean got the courage to ask. 

“I’m not really into labels or anything, but I just...I feel like this is--we’re-- kind of regular now and I don’t know, realish? You know what I mean?” Dean’s stomach filled with butterflies on a murderous rampage as Castiel smiled sweetly at him, eyes glowing.

“I’d love to be your boyfriend, Dean.”

“Really?” Cas nodded, and he couldn’t help but grin and kiss the man again. 

***

“Am I ever gonna meet him or her?”

Dean looked up at his father staring at him from the other side of the table and nearly dropped his spoonful of chili. 

“What?”

“Whoever it is you’re spending so much time with lately. Do I get to meet them?” Dean thought for a moment and set his spoon down.

“It’s a guy.”

“Then do I ever get to meet him?” 

Dean looked from his father to Sam and back again, unsure of what to do. It was weird enough for him that John hadn’t cared about his sexuality, then that after giving the ‘safe sex’ talk, he didn’t care how often Dean spent the night elsewhere, but now he wanted to know about Cas? 

“We’re not really serious right now. But if we ever get there, yeah I guess.” John sighed and continued eating, moving on to ask about Sam’s less romantically-interesting life. 

Dean had trouble focusing on the rest of the meal. He rarely lied to his dad, and he never lied to Sam. They were getting kind of serious with Dean spending most nights at Cas’ apartment, and even some days when he wasn’t working at the garage. But how was Cas ever supposed to meet his family? Yeah, Dad, this is my thirty year old boyfriend, and oh yeah, he used to be my teacher, but now we sleep together.

He’d gone through this with John just now, but Sam had been asking already about Dean’s new boyfriend, mostly because Sam always was in the loop in Dean’s life. Then there was Jo, who Dean normally gossipped with like a seventh grade girl. She was growing curious about Cas too, but he had so far managed to change the subject every time his dating life came up. So far.

***

“Whatever it is, it smells amazing.” 

Dean stood in the kitchen watching Cas stir a pot of some bubbling red sauce that smelled like heaven on Earth. Of all the wonderful things about Castiel, his ability to cook was one of the best. Dean felt spoiled at every meal they shared. 

“Just a few more minutes until it’s ready,” Cas said with a smile. Dean walked up and wrapped his arms around Castiel from behind, turning his head to kiss his neck. Cas laughed. “How am I supposed to focus on cooking it properly with you in here doing that?”

After eating an inappropriate amount, they abandoned a sinkful of dirty dishes, curled up on the couch under a fluffy blanket, and watched an old horror movie in black and white. They rested up against one another watching the cheesy film, Cas absently running his hand through Dean’s brown hair. Dean looked up for a moment and was caught up in Castiel’s expression as he watched the movie in the darkness of his living room. The look on his face was pure content, and Dean realized that that’s what he was feeling. In that moment, everything was perfect. 

“I love you,” he said.

Cas turned with a hint of a smile, eyes abandoning the movie to stare at him from behind his glasses. 

“I love you too,” he said in his always raspy voice, and they each turned away to continue watching the movie, Dean’s hand finding Cas’. 

***

Castiel wandered the mall aimlessly, hoping that he would stumble upon the perfect gift. One month wasn’t an anniversary he had ever celebrated with a partner before, but everything was different with Dean. Every day felt worth celebrating. If all else failed, he would buy a handful of records and hope Dean didn’t already own them. Walking by the movie theater, Castiel nearly ran into someone and stopped to apologize.

“Mr. Novak?” the blonde tomboy said before he had a chance to say anything.

“Hello, Jo. How has your summer been?” Castiel smiled. He had taught Jo Harvelle for a few years because she was quite talented in language and literature, something he was sure not many of her friends knew. He enjoyed teaching students that truly cared, and Jo was a sweet girl on top of that.

“It’s been alright. I never got the chance to tell you after graduation, I was accepted to the University of Iowa.” The girl beamed.

“That’s fantastic, congratulations. The writing programs there are wonderful, I hear.”

“I just wanted to say thank you for everything. I never thought I could make a career of writing, let alone get into a college that specializes in it. Everything you did for me with editing my work and suggesting schools…I’m so thankful for your help.”

“You are an excellent writer, Jo. In ten years I won’t be surprised to have novels with your name on them on my bookshelf at home.” Castiel smiled brightly at his former student. If he had to choose one person to be successful in the arts, he would put his money on Jo Harvelle. She had the ability and the guts, and he felt humbled to have been her teacher.

“Thank you so much, you don’t know what that means to me.” Jo’s eyes were a bit watery as someone approached and they both looked up to see Dean standing at her side. Cas’ throat closed as Dean eyed him carefully.

“Uh, hey, Mr. Novak.” Dean swallowed and turned to Jo. “I got our tickets for the movie.” Jo smiled.

“Cool. I was just telling Mr. Novak about UI; he’s really the reason I applied in the first place.”

Dean nodded, his eyes shifting back and forth from Castiel to the ground. He put his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and yelled at his heart to stop beating so damn fast.

“Well, the movie’s gonna start soon, so we should probably go.”

“Right,” Jo said. “See you around, Mr. Novak. And thank you again.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Castiel said while trying to avoid looking at Dean too much. The two teenagers headed into the movie theater, and Dean glanced back for just a moment before Castiel headed off in the direction of the record store, wondering how on Earth he had gotten himself into all this.

***

Dean left Bobby’s garage the next day and parked the Impala in the driveway. His father must have still been at work, Dean assumed because John’s truck was gone. He headed upstairs, planning on showering and calling Cas, but instead walked in to find Sam and Jo sitting on his unmade bed, waiting for him. 

“Uh, what’s going on?” he asked as the two gave him calculated expressions.

“Sit down, Dean.” For a moment, Dean was willing to ignore being commanded by his little brother and sat down, because the looks on their faces made him nervous.

“Dean,” Jo started, “Sam and I are your best friends, right? And the three of us are pretty tight. Now, you know everything about the guys I date, and we both know about Sam and his adorable crush on Jess.”

Sam gave her a glare, but she continued without pausing.

“Now, everyone knows you’re seeing someone, but for some reason, you’ve decided not to tell either one of us a thing. So now we’ve decided that you’re being stupid and need to spill.”

Dean groaned.

“I’m dating someone, but neither of us are ready for anyone to know.”

“Is it serious?” Sam asked.

“It is.”

“You don’t, you don’t love him, do you?” Sam’s eyes widened in curiosity. Dean had never been in a serious relationship before, let alone in love with someone, and they all knew that. 

“Uh, yeah. I do.”

“Wait,” Jo said, closing her eyes. “You are seriously seeing someone and you’ve told him you love him?”

Dean nodded. 

“Woah,” Sam said. 

“How’d you meet him?” Jo asked, leaning forward.

“It’s a long story. And a complicated one.”

“Holy shit,” she said, shaking her head. “I mean, I just, holy shit.”

“What?” Dean demanded, sort of offended that it was that unbelievable for him to be in love.

Jo put her head in her hands. “My best friend’s screwing my favorite teacher.”

“What?!” Dean and Sam said simultaneously. 

Dean suddenly couldn’t breathe, and his hands began shaking. Jo couldn’t know. She couldn’t. He’d been so careful around everyone, but especially her. 

“It’s him, isn’t it?” she said, looking Dean dead in the eye. “It’s Mr. Novak.”

“The English teacher?” Sam asked, his face scrunching. “But he’s so old.”

“He’s only 34!” Dean said, and Sam’s mouth dropped. Jo’s wasn’t so closed either as Dean shut his eyes and regretted ever coming home. “God dammit,” he muttered, “this is why I wasn’t going to tell anyone.”

Sam still sat on the bed, rethinking his entire life based on the expression on his face, as Dean sulked in regret. Jo was the first to come out of shock; she’d known for weeks but had tried to pretend it was all in her head, the way they looked at each other with fear and attraction and so many other things that day at the mall. 

“Come on Sam,” she said with as much cheerfulness as was possible. “It’s a pretty big age difference, but he’s not that old. And if you had to choose a teacher, Mr. Novak’s pretty hot in a dorky glasses, wears sweater vests sort of way.”

Dean looked up at her, eyes grateful. She smiled and nodded, as if to say don’t worry. Then he looked at Sam, who appeared a bit nauseous. 

“Sammy?” 

Sam looked up at him, not angry or even that grossed out, but sort of confused.

“Are you...okay?” Dean asked, unsure of what else he should say.

“You’re happy with him?” Sam asked earnestly.

“Um, yeah. Yes, I am. But I can’t be happy if you’re not.”

Sam considered this for a minute.

“I see him in the library a lot; he helped me find some books once. He’s nice.”

Dean smiled and thought for a minute he might have to go to the bathroom and wipe away tears. He seriously hadn’t expected any of that to go that well.

***

Dean unlocked the apartment door with a key Cas had given him a few weeks ago so that he could come and go as he pleased. Castiel was sitting on the couch in his livingroom, reading, when Dean walked in. 

“Hello.” Cas smiled at him, and Dean fell onto the couch, sinking into Cas as he put his arm around him. “Tired?”

“You won’t believe the conversation I just had,” Dean said, turning to be face to face with Cas. 

“What happened?” he asked, setting his book and glasses on the coffee table.

“Sam and Jo know about us.”

“What?” Alarm flashed across Castiel’s face.

“It’s fine though. They’re fine, and they aren’t going to tell anyone. Sam was sort of creeped out, but he said he was happy for me, and Jo said you were hot.”

Cas sighed. “That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Your father?” 

“He has no idea, and Sam would never tell him.” Thank God, Castiel thought. John Winchester did not sound like a man you would want to make angry.

“Is Jo alright with it? We always had a close mentoring relationship.”

“She’s fine. Jo’s pretty chill, which is probably why we’ve been friends for forever. That was really awesome of you to help her so much, by the way.”

“She’s very talented, it was a pleasure to help.”

“Well, it wasn’t a pleasure for me to listen to her talk about how cool you were in high school. It only made my crush ten times worse.”

“You are adorable.” Cas kissed him on the cheek. “I always thought you were just a hormonal teenage boy who enjoyed flirting with people and being too attractive for his own good. I never knew you actually liked me.”

“Well,” Dean said, “I won’t lie and tell you I’m not in love with your body, but the reason I’m still here is really just to listen to you reading Matthew Dickman poems.” 

“You are a sucker for The Mysterious Human Heart,” Cas laughed, kissing him again.

***

Dean looked up from his laptop in response to the knocking on the front door. No one came over very often, as far as he could tell. Maybe Cas had forgotten his keys when he went out running errands. Dean was already thinking of teasing comments for him when he opened the door to reveal a tall woman with pale skin and long red hair. She stood in jeans and a green top and had a duffel bag at her feet. Dean stood in the doorway looking at her questioningly. The woman squinted at him, glanced at the apartment number, then looked back, tilting her head. Dean was beginning to feel uncomfortable when something in her face clicked.

“Dean?” she said.

“Who’s asking?”

She gave an amused smile and looked him up and down.

“I’m Anna.” She stared at him, and he stared back until it was his turn to click.

“Oh. Oh. Anna.” She nodded, the amusement on her face growing. “Um, come in.”

Dean opened the door, and she walked over the threshold before setting her bag down in the living room and turning to face Dean again. 

“So where exactly is my brother?” she asked.

“Oh, he’s out grocery shopping and going to the bank and stuff. He should be back soon. You can, uh, make yourself at home I guess.”

Anna nodded and gave him another careful once-over before laughing to herself. “Wow. I mean, Cassy said you were young, but he didn’t say...what are you anyway? Twenty?”

Dean blushed. “Eighteen.”

Anna laughed harder and went to sit on the couch. 

***

“Really, Cassy, I’m impressed.”

Castiel grimaced as he began cooking dinner. Dean had left to help Sam with something or another, and so he was left alone with the surprise guest. Cas loved his older sister dearly, but he was sure she wasn’t ever going to let this one go.

“Eighteen, that’s amazing. Good for you. But let me ask, doesn’t it feel like some sort of competition in bed; you being almost twenty years older and all?”

“Anna, our sex life is absolutely none of your business.”

“Okay, okay, but at least tell me this: was he your student?” 

Cas tensed in preparation, letting out a quiet, “Yes.”

“Wow. You of all people…”

“Nothing happened until after he graduated,” Cas defended himself. “And this isn’t just some fling with a teenager. I need you to respect our relationship.”

“Wait, this is that serious?” Anna asked, not used to hearing her brother speak so surely about a boyfriend.

“Yes,” Cas said, then, after a moment of consideration, “I love him.”

She didn’t speak for a moment. 

“Does he know this?”

“Yes. For the first time in my life, I am in a happy, healthy relationship full of mutual understanding and respect. Alright? It just happens to be with an eighteen year old to whom I once taught grammar.”

Anna smiled. 

“As long as he treats you well, little brother.”

***

“I can’t believe they don’t care.”

Dean laid in bed wrapped in blankets and Cas’ warm embrace. He ran his fingers over Castiel’s arm, staring off into space.

“Seriously, our families know about us, think about that for a minute.”

“Not your father,” Cas murmured.

“True, but I don’t see anytime in the distant future where Dad accepts us, and I’m not gonna let that stop me from being happy.” Castiel nodded. “Are you happy, Cas?”

“Of course I am.”

“But are you just saying that because that’s the sort of thing you say when your boyfriend asks if you’re happy? Because I have to leave for college in a few weeks, which is only an hour away, but it’s still gonna be different from this summer, and I don’t want us to be different.”

Castiel sat up a bit and cupped Dean’s cheek in his hand before looking straight into his eyes, blue staring at green. 

“Dean Winchester, I have never in my life been happier. You make me happy.”

Dean melted into a sappy smile and leaned over to kiss him.

***

Castiel was eating in his favorite local cafe on his lunch break one day in early September. Getting back into the school routine was always difficult, but it was much worse with Dean sixty miles away in a dorm room. They talked everyday and spent a lot of weekends together, and Cas knew it could be much worse. He even got updates from Dean on Jo and her experiences in Iowa. Castiel wrote a grade at the top of a quiz and took another bite of his chicken salad as a man in jeans and a plaid shirt walked up to him. 

“Excuse me?” the stranger said, and Cas looked up at the man.

“I was-- wait, you’re...you’re Mr. Novak, aren’t you?” Cas didn’t respond for a second, trying to place the man. “You teach my son’s English class. Sam Winchester?”

Cas nearly choked on his chicken. Fuck.

“Castiel Novak,” he said, nodding sheepishly and sticking a hand out. John Winchester shook his hand firmly. 

“My son says you’re a great teacher. Anyway, I was going to ask if you had a cell phone I could borrow?” 

Cas nodded and pulled his phone out of the pocket of his tan trench coat. With trembling hands, he handed it to John, who smiled and walked a few feet away to make a call. Cas stared hard at the grammar quiz and lunch in front of him, trying to remember how to breathe. Within a few minutes, John returned and handed the phone back, looking somewhat confused. 

“Everything alright?” Cas wasn’t sure what made him say it, but whatever it was, it was stupid. John looked him dead in the eye.

“You missed a call. From Dean.”

Castiel stood up then, out of what he thought later on to be a natural survival instinct to try and make himself closer in size to his immediate threat. He wasn’t going to be able to match John in the height and broadness department, though.

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

“Mr. Winchester, if you would just let me explain-” Cas never got to finish his sentence, mostly because of John’s fist connecting with his face. 

***

“Shit, Cas, are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, Dean. It’s just sore. Please don’t leave school.” Dean paused, his indecision evident.

“Alright. Promise me you’ll put ice on it?”

“Yes sir,” Cas said teasingly. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Dean right now. “Don’t be late for class.”

“Isn’t that a reminder of the good old days?” Dean laughed.

“You mean the days when you harassed me relentlessly? Those were fun, though I much prefer being able to kiss you without loosing my job, even if it gets me punched in the face. I’ll see you this weekend?”

“Yep. I’m sorry, Cas. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

***

Dean walked up to the house he’d lived in for the last fourteen years, and for the first time in his life, was scared shitless of being home. He approached the front porch, where John sat on the steps drinking a beer. Dean approached carefully and took a seat beside him. 

“Dad, I-” Dean didn’t know where to go with that. It hung there in the autumn air, sitting between them on the step. Neither Winchester spoke for a few minutes.

“Did he touch you in school?” John’s eyes were closed, and his hands were gripping the beer bottle. 

“No. He never would’ve.” Dean paused to see if he could continue, and after seeing no sign, decided to go ahead. “It happened after graduation. I mean, I liked him all senior year, but it was a few weeks after school got out that we ran into each other and…”

“All summer, that was him?”

Dean nodded, then on second thought added, “Yeah.”

“I just don’t understand. My kid wasn’t supposed to be the one to fall for that predator crap.”

“Dad, he’s not a predator. I was the one who flirted with him.”

John looked over at his son for the first time, eyes wide and mouth frowning. 

Dean continued: “I tried to flirt with him everyday, and he ignored me for nine months. The guy’s got willpower. And it’s ironic, because Cas is literally the best person I’ve ever met, but no one would think so because he happens to be with someone so much younger. Under different circumstances, I think you would actually get along really well.”

“He’s your brother’s teacher.”

“I know. They said it was a little weird at first, but we’ve all had dinner together, and they get along well, so now it’s just more of a strange situation.”

“You mean Sam…?”

“Yeah. Jo figured it out and told him.”

“Who all knows?”

“Sam, Jo, Cas’ sister, and a few friends from school know him, but they don’t realize he was my teacher and everything.”

John didn’t respond. 

“So?” Dean asked nervously. “I’ve kind of spent three days doing nothing but worrying about this conversation and also that you might go out and get arrested for trying to assault my boyfriend again.” 

He grimaced at the word boyfriend and thought for a minute.

“I guess I’m sort of sorry I hit him.”

“It’s alright. If I found out a thirty-four year old was dating my son with no context, I would punch him too.”

“He’s thirty-four?”

“That probably wasn’t a great thing to say.”

John sighed and looked Dean in the eyes. 

“I just worry about you and your brother, and then you spend the summer with some mystery guy you won’t tell me about, and I borrow this Novak’s phone and see your face pop up. It terrified me.”

“I should have been the one to tell you, and I am sorry about that, but I’m not sorry about Cas. I- I love him, Dad. A lot.”

John stiffened before finally saying, “I just want you to be happy.”

“I am.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, John sipping his beer again. 

“Does that mean I finally get to meet him? Officially, without the punching?”


End file.
